MacRumors

Yesterday, Apple disclosed for the first time that it is working to develop a software tool to detect and remove the Flashback malware from infected machines. We also previously profiled Flashback Checker, a simple app designed to allow users to easily see if their Macs are infected but which provides no assistance with disinfection.

While Apple works on its own official solution, other parties have continued to develop their own increasingly user-friendly tools for dealing with the threat and cleaning infected machines, with some of those tools making their way into the public's hands.

Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab, which has played a key role in monitoring and publicizing the threat of Flashback, yesterday announced the launch of a free web-based checker where users can simply input the hardware UUID of their Mac to see if it has registered on the firm's servers as an infected machine. The company has also released Flashfake Removal Tool, a free app that quickly and easily detects and removes the malware.

kaspersky flashback tool
Antivirus firm F-Secure has also announced its own free Flashback Removal app. The app generates a log file detailing whether it has found Flashback on a user's system, and if so quarantines it inside an encrypted ZIP file for disposal.

F-Secure also points out that Apple has yet to offer any protection for users running systems earlier than Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Flashback uses a vulnerability in Java to install itself without user authorization, and Apple released software patches for Java on Lion and Snow Leopard last week to close that hole and prevent infection on updated systems. Machines running earlier versions of Mac OS X do, however, remain unprotected. Specifically, F-Secure notes that over 16% of Macs are still running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, marking a substantial user base that remains vulnerable to the threat.

Update: Kaspersky Lab has informed MacRumors that the Flashfake Removal Tool has temporarily been pulled after the discovery that in some cases it could erroneously remove certain user settings. A fixed version of the tool will be posted as soon as it is available.

Update 2: The patched version of the Flashfake Removal Tool is now available through the Kaspersky Lab site.

While the new 1080p-capable Apple TV has been available for nearly a month, Chipworks has now gotten around to tearing down the device's custom A5 system-on-a-chip, discovering with some surprise that the chip is actually a new design from Apple using a die shrink from the 45-nm process used in the A5 of the iPhone 4S to a new 32-nm process. The teardown also reveals what many had suspected: that the "single-core" A5 advertised by Apple for the new Apple TV is actually a standard dual-core chip with one of its cores disabled.

The new A5 processor die is not a single core processor, but contains a dual core processor. Either Apple is only utilizing one core or they are binning parts. Parts binning is a common process in semiconductors where devices are segregated (binned) based on meeting a subset of the overall requirements, in this case they could disable the “bad” core, this increases the usable die per wafer, lowering the cost.

As for the die shrink on the Apple TV's A5, the development raises question about why Apple made the investment in such changes to the A5 for a relatively low volume device like the Apple TV. Despite the benefits of a die shrink, the cost of implementing it for the Apple TV alone would not be inconsequential.

dual a9 cores a5
Dual ARM cores from iPhone 4S A5 chip (left) and Apple TV A5 chip (right)

The new A5 measures nearly 41% smaller than its predecessor, coming in at 69.6 mm². Process shrinking not only reduce costs by fitting more dies on a wafer, but it also improves performance and lowers power consumption. This is a very complex chip for a relatively low volume part (for Apple); one would think they have greater plans for this new A5 variant.

Even the A5X used in the new iPad is manufactured using 45-nm processes, making the Apple TV the company's first iOS device to move to the smaller and more efficient 32-nm process.

Update: Chipworks has now updated its report to note that the 32-nm A5 is also showing up in the latest models of the iPad 2. The observation makes it clear that Apple is using the lower-volume models as a testing ground for the more efficient 32-nm processes, with fully-functional dual-core chips landing in the iPad 2 while the Apple TV receives single-core chips with either one core intentionally disabled or one defective core.

(Thanks, @anexanhume!)

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

As part of today's Apple online store downtime, the company appears to have rolled out an enhancement of its sales chat support services for those looking to purchase an Apple product. While sales chat has been available for quite some time through individual product pages, the changes include a revamped chat window with a more modern appearance.

apple online store chat
As has long been the case, sales chat support is available only during certain times of the day and dependent on availability of chat agents.

Even more interestingly, Apple appears to be using its Brazilian store as a test market for even further enhancements that allow sales specialists to share their screens with potential customers to help walk them through a product's features. MacMagazine.com.br provides an overview the process [Google translation], showing how users can participate in a virtual tour with the chat appearing along the right side of the browser window while the specialist shares his or her screen to walk through the product's features.

apple online store sales screen share
The report indicates that the screen sharing virtual tour feature is limited to the iPad 2 for the time being, but that the company has plans to extend it across its product lines.

verizon iphone cook
Verizon today announced that as of April 22 it will initiate a $30 upgrade fee for current customers moving to new devices.

On April 22, Verizon Wireless is implementing a $30 upgrade fee for existing customers purchasing new mobile equipment at a discounted price with a two-year contract. This fee will help us continue to provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect which includes Wireless Workshops, online educational tools, and consultations with experts who provide advice and guidance on devices that are more sophisticated than ever.

Verizon is the last of the major U.S. carriers to add a device upgrade fee, a secondary revenue stream carriers justify by citing costs associated with setting up new devices and updating account information. Sprint and AT&T previously charged $18 device upgrade fees, but Sprint doubled its fee to $36 last September and AT&T followed suit back in February.

Related Forum: iPhone

Amid swirling rumors of an imminent update for the 15-inch MacBook Pro driven by a claimed April 29 launch date for Intel's quad-core mobile Ivy Bridge processors, CPU World reports that benchmarking of one of the chips likely to appear in the new MacBook Pro shows fairly significant improvements in performance, particularly in graphics.

The chip being tested was the Core i7-3820QM, a 2.7 GHz processor with turbo speeds up to 3.7 GHz paired with Intel HD 4000 graphics. The chip is scheduled to debut with a price of $568 in high volume, and seems to be the natural successor to the Sandy Bridge Core i7-2860QM that is the current high-end processor for the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro, available as a build-to-order option.

mbp lineup early 2011
For benchmarking comparisons, the new Ivy Bridge Core i7-3820QM chip was pitted against a Sandy Bridge Core i7-2960XM, which is an even higher-performance "Extreme" chip than is available in the current MacBook Pro. Consequently, any performance increase between the current high-end MacBook Pro chip and this new Ivy Bridge chip would be even greater than outlined in the benchmarking comparison.

Overall, the 3820QM was found to score an average of 9% higher than the Extreme 2960XM chip, a modest improvement but one which should be significantly higher relative to the 2860QM chip from the current MacBook Pro. Taking into account a roughly 10% higher performance for the tested 2960XM Sandy Bridge processor compared to the 2860QM actually found in the current MacBook Pro, the new 3820QM Ivy Bridge processor should offer roughly 20% higher CPU performance than is currently available in the MacBook Pro.

Looking at the CPU performance, using a few tests, we can see how the reduced production process helps the performance for a number of standard tests. In 3DMark Vantage (Entry level preset), Ivy Bridge has a 10% performance improvement over Sandy Bridge for the CPU score, and 9% in the physics score. In Cinebench 11.5, the single thread test showed a performance boost of 4%, and the multi-threaded test gave an improvement of 10%. The performance boost in the Truecrypt 7.0a - AES test was 4%. Finally, using x264 HD Benchmark 4.0, test 1 showed a boost of 13%, and test 2 showed a boost of 11%.

Even more significant gains for the Ivy Bridge chip show up in graphics performance, where the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics supplants the HD 3000 graphics found in the Sandy Bridge chips. According to the benchmarks, the new HD 4000 integrated graphics outperforms the current graphics by anywhere from 32% to 108% depending on the test.

Apple of course also includes a dedicated graphics chip in its larger MacBook Pro models, giving users the option of higher performance with the dedicated chip or increased battery life with the integrated graphics. And given that the HD 4000 integrated graphics does not yet approach the performance of dedicated chips, those looking for maximum performance will still want to take advantage of whichever dedicated graphics option Apple includes in updated MacBook Pro models.

But significant improvements to integrated graphics performance could show up as a benefit in a number of areas, including providing users with better performance even when opting for the battery-conserving graphics settings. Apple has also reportedly been considering using integrated graphics only in some of its mid-range MacBook Pro models, with the HD 4000 chip making it feasible for the company to drop the dedicated graphics chip on some of those models while still being able to offer acceptable graphics performance.

Finally, the HD 4000 graphics will offer a marked improvement for the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is expected to debut in June when Intel rolls out its dual-core Ivy Bridge processors. The smaller 13-inch form factor requires that those models rely solely on integrated graphics, meaning that all users would see a significant boost from the current HD 3000 graphics to the new HD 4000 graphics.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro

ibooks iconFollowing up on last month's threat to file suit over the Apple-backed agency model of e-book pricing, the U.S. Department of Justice today sued Apple and a number of book publishers over the practice, Bloomberg briefly reports. Settlement talks had been ongoing, but Apple and the publishers were reportedly unwilling to meet the Department of Justice's demands.

The U.S. filed a price- fixing antitrust lawsuit against Apple Corp. and Hachette in New York district court over eBook pricing. The government also sued HarperCollins, Macmillan and Penguin, according to court papers.

Settlement talks had centered around dismantling the agency model, which sees publishers set retail pricing and vendors receive a percentage of the sales price. Apple had pushed for the agency model in an attempt to dilute Amazon's power in the book market, where it had offered vast discounts, even sometimes selling books at a loss, in order to attract customers who would make other purchases through the site.

But the Department of Justice believes that the agency model as implemented by the publishers at Apple's behest amounts to collusion, with contracts between Apple and the publishers including language that prevented the publishers from offering lower pricing to competitors than they did to Apple. Contrary to the government's claims of an anti-competitive impact from the agency model, Apple and several of the publishers have argued that the move has fostered competitiveness by limiting Amazon's stranglehold on the book market. Consequently, the two sides have been unable to reach a settlement.

Update: Bloomberg reports that the Department of Justice has reached a settlement with Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and HarperCollins over the issue. Once finalized, the settlement would leave Apple, Macmillan and Penguin as defendants in the case.

Macmillan CEO John Sargent has published an open letter to the publisher's authors, illustrators and agents outlining why it will fight the lawsuit.

It is always better if possible to settle these matters before a case is brought. The costs of continuing—in time, distraction, and expense— are truly daunting.

But the terms the DOJ demanded were too onerous. After careful consideration, we came to the conclusion that the terms could have allowed Amazon to recover the monopoly position it had been building before our switch to the agency model. We also felt the settlement the DOJ wanted to impose would have a very negative and long term impact on those who sell books for a living, from the largest chain stores to the smallest independents.

Sargent notes that Macmillan makes less money under the agency model than it did under the previous wholesale model, but that it made the change to support competitiveness in the market, not stifle it.

Addressing the Department of Justice's claim that publishers and Apple colluded to fix pricing, Sargent also describes the circumstances under which he made the final decision to move to the agency model, calling it the "loneliest decision" he has ever made.

The government’s charge is that Macmillan’s CEO colluded with other CEO’s in changing to the agency model. I am Macmillan’s CEO and I made the decision to move Macmillan to the agency model. After days of thought and worry, I made the decision on January 22nd, 2010 a little after 4:00 AM, on an exercise bike in my basement. It remains the loneliest decision I have ever made, and I see no reason to go back on it now.

Update 2: The Department of Justice has released a transcript of a press conference statement from Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the lawsuit.

Update 3: Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen today announced that a group of sixteen states have followed the Department of Justice's lead and filed their own lawsuit against Apple and publishers. The complaint claims that consumers were overcharged by at least $100 million due to the alleged price fixing.

Update 4: The Verge has a thorough analysis of the highlights from the Department of Justice's filing.

We typically avoid posting a story each time the Apple Store goes offline for updates. While the Apple online store famously goes offline to introduce new products, it also goes down for routine maintenance.

Tonight's downtime is likely related to maintenance or other non-product tweaks, but notably the "We'll be back soon" graphic that should be quite familiar to long time Apple followers has been changed.

055429 title backsoon1 500
The original graphic (above) was on a sticky note and has been in place for many years. Every time Apple's online store goes down, visitors would be greeted with this yellow sticky. Tonight, we see a new graphic overlaying a linen background that has been popularized in iOS.

beback
Apple has several product lines that are due for updates soon, including the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro. These overnight downtimes, however, are more typically related to routine maintenance rather than new products. The change in "We'll be back" graphic may foreshadow other graphical tweaks to the online store.

Update: The online store returned without any notable changes.

apple security iconApple published a support document this evening regarding the Flashback malware that affects OS X computers. We previously detailed the software which began life last year as a trojan and has morphed into a drive-by download taking advantage of a vulnerability in Java that Apple did not patch until last week.

The malware is said to have infected over 600,000 Macs worldwide. While 3rd party tools have been developed to test for the infection, Apple reveals they are working on their own tool to detect and remove the software:

Apple is developing software that will detect and remove the Flashback malware.

In addition, Apple has been working with ISPs worldwide to disable the servers that send commands to the malware.

9to5Mac claims to have some early details about Apple's next version of iTunes. iTunes 11 has been internally seeded and is said to include under-the-hood changes and early support for iOS 6, which has not yet been announced.

iclouditunes
The main focus seems to be on iCloud:

iTunes 11 includes an increased presence of iCloud integration. Perhaps the biggest testament to this is a dedicated iCloud settings panel within iTunes. This panel is a centralized, always accessible spot for users to control iCloud related features while in iTunes. These features include iTunes Match, iTunes in the Cloud, iCloud iOS device backups and more.

An increased focus around iCloud makes sense as Apple's Tim Cook has said that he doesn't view iCloud as short term product, but instead a long term strategy for the next 10 years. When asked about it at the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference, he responded:

I view iCloud not as something with a year or two product life -- it's a strategy for the next decade or more. It's truly profound.

coventgardengeniusbar
Apple is equipping its London Genius Bars with replacement international keyboards for MacBooks and considering stocking new MacBooks with American, Asian and other international keyboards ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics in the city, according to a report from TUAW.

A high-level Apple retail employee here in London told me today that the company is planning to stock its London area retail stores with international replacement MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook keyboards. This way, the retail outlets will have the spare parts on hand should international journalists need a quick turnaround on a damaged laptop.

As my source told me, "London is going to be overrun by an onslaught of journalists when the games begin. We want to be prepared should they need help with their equipment during the time they are here."

TUAW notes that along with the thousands of athletes and other support staff attending the Olympics, more than 10,000 print journalists are expected to be covering the games, along with numerous other bloggers, editors, photographers, videographers along with thousands of tourists -- many of them Mac and iOS users.

The stocking of international keyboards will be important for foreign Mac users coming to the city for the Olympics. Generally, Apple Stores only stock keyboards localized for the country in which the store is located, and international keyboards must be ordered separately. This would be impractical for Mac users covering the games, as time will be of the essence on any repairs.

It is likely that the London-area retail stores will see some of their heaviest traffic ever during the Summer Olympics, and will have extremely high staffing levels to prepare for it. London itself has five Apple Stores, including the Regent Street and Covent Garden flagships.

The 2012 Olympic Summer Games will run from July 27th through August 12th.

Amid continuing rumors that Apple is looking to increase the size of the iPhone display from the existing 3.5-inch screen to something in the range of 4 inches, one persistent concern has been how Apple would deal with the change in screen dimensions.

All models of the iPhone and iPod touch released to date have carried a 3.5-inch screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio, allowing developers to target their apps at a single screen size. With the addition of Retina displays in 2010, the screens now come at much higher resolution, but the extra resolution is dedicated to increasing the visual quality of content rather than increasing screen real estate. The introduction of the iPad in 2010 added a new display size to the mix, but the considerable difference in screen size compared to the iPhone made it reasonable for developers to create custom interfaces, either in the form of universal apps or separate iPad and iPhone apps, for use on the different devices.

But moving to a slightly-larger iPhone display would seem to cause issues for Apple and its developers, with the company seemingly having two options: either increasing pixel size to keep the same resolution but on a slightly larger display; or maintaining pixel size and increasing resolution correspondingly. The former solution would allow existing iPhone apps to fit the new device's screen with no modifications but with only limited utility, while the latter solution would seem to require developers target yet another screen size with their apps.

But as outlined at The Verge, one method for achieving the latter solution in moving to a 4-inch display would be to change the aspect ratio, maintaining the existing 640 pixel width but stretching the height of the display until it reaches a 4-inch diagonal. Simple geometry yields a screen height of roughly 1152 pixels for a 4-inch display, compared to 960 pixels on the current 3.5-inch display.

4 inch iphone comparison
The forum poster, a user by the name of modilwar, was inspired by a comment from a caller named "Colin" on The Vergecast show who suggested that change in aspect ratio as a possibility for a larger display. Using that idea, modilwar developed a series of illustrations showing how this could be achieved.

At the most basic level, an increase in the height of the display would allow Apple to show five rows of icons on each page of the iPhone's home screen, up from the current four rows. Apple would also likely find it fairly easy to augment its own apps to take full advantage of the increased vertical screen real estate.

4 inch iphone home
As for third-party apps, modilwar notes that many apps already utilize standard interface elements such as navigation buttons and bars at the top and bottom of the screen supporting a larger main content window in the middle. In the case of these apps, the main windows could simply expand vertically to show more content than on the current iPhone. Examples include browsers that could show more of a webpage, Twitter apps that could show more of a timeline, and mapping apps that could show more map tiles.

4 inch iphone twitter
Other apps with custom user interface elements would require a bit more work, but in the meantime could simply be displayed at their current sizes with a 96-pixel wide black bar at top and bottom on the larger 4-inch display.

This new 4-inch screen with a 9:5 aspect ratio would also perform much better at displaying widescreen 16:9 video content, leaving bars on either side of the screen that are only 7 pixels wide, compared to 50 pixels for unzoomed content on the current iPhone.

Modilwar passes off his post as an intellectual exercise simple showing one way in which Apple could make a change to the iPhone's display with a minimum of disruption to the iOS ecosystem, but in a bit of a curious turn the post was picked up by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, who hints that the original idea may not be all that far-fetched.

Methinks “Colin” wasn’t merely guessing or idly speculating.

Since Gruber has been known to speak coyly about his occasional inside knowledge, it is unclear whether he has independent knowledge supporting the idea of a taller display for the iPhone or if he simply has a gut feeling that "Colin" may legitimately be tipping some information at least partially tied to Apple's thinking.

Update: "Colin" has been revealed to be Timothy Collins, who has no direct association with Apple.

Related Forum: iPhone

fcplogoApple has updated its flagship video editing software, Final Cut Pro [Mac App Store], to version 10.0.4. The update is a minor one, adding some performance improvements, bug fixes, and language support for Simplified Chinese. Final Cut Pro can be updated via the Mac App Store.

Final Cut Pro X version 10.0.4 improves overall stability, performance, and compatibility including:

- Improves image quality and responsiveness of broadcast monitoring with compatible third-party PCIe and Thunderbolt I/O devices.
- Improves performance of multicam syncing and editing.
- Adds language support for Simplified Chinese.
- Adds a Share option for 1080p video on compatible iOS devices.

Final Cut Pro version 10.0.4 also addresses the following issues:

- Assigns default audio channel setting for new projects to stereo.
- Includes multicam metadata in XML project export.
- Fixes an issue in which video superimposed over a background with an alpha channel could appear differently in Viewer before and after render.
- Fixes an issue that caused some titles to be rendered again after each application launch.

This update is recommended for all users of Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro is available on the Mac App Store for $299.99. The 10.0.4 update is free for current owners of FCP. [Direct Link]

motionlogoThe update to Motion 5.0.3 doesn't add any specific features, but offers "stability and performance" improvements.

Motion 5.0.3 improves overall stability and performance including:

- Improves loading time for projects.
- Improves performance of text editing in the Canvas.
- Fixes issues with Fill Opaque enabled in images converted to Drop Zones.
- Resolves a stability issue that occurred when deleting all characters with the Transform Glyph tool.
- Corrects the pixel aspect ratio display of Anamorphic clips.
- Improves speed of Save Current Frame.
- Resolves a stability issue when adjusting motion blur controls in the Project Properties Inspector.
- Resolves a stability issue when modifying media files while Motion is running in the background.

Motion is $49.99 on the Mac App Store. The 5.0.3 update is free for current Motion owners. [Direct Link]

As noted by AppleInsider, third-party resellers are beginning to experience shortages of Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro, hinting that a refresh may be coming in the near future.

Among those resellers reflecting backorder status on some of the current 15-inch MacBook Pros is J&R, which is now sold out of both the 2.2GHz model, which is listed as "out of stock," and the 2.4GHz variety, which is currently advertised as "on order."

In addition, Best Buy has also stopped accepting online orders for the 2.4GHz model for home delivery. The 15-inch notebook is still available on a store-by-store basis, however a quick check of individual store inventory in cities such as Chicago and Austin similarly indicate that between 40 and 60 percent of those shops are similarly reflecting stock outs.

Apple's own online store is not yet showing any delays in fulfilling orders, but the company prioritizes its own distribution channels over third-party resellers, meaning that shortages generally show up first at those resellers.

best buy mbp not shipping
Apple has been said to be ramping up production of new 15-inch MacBook Pro models carrying a thinner form factor, with Intel's rumored April 29 debut of quad-core mobile Ivy Bridge processors undoubtedly driving that timeline.

With dual-core Ivy Bridge processors not launching until early June, it seems that Apple may not be launching upgraded 13-inch MacBook Pro models until that time. As for the 17-inch MacBook Pro, AppleInsider had previously claimed that Apple was likely to use a staggered rollout of the new MacBook Pro form factor, with the 17-inch model not receiving an update until perhaps several months after the smaller models.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro

cook ipad 3 on stage
AllThingsD today announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook will be the opening keynote speaker at the D10 Conference scheduled for late May. Cook will appear in an evening interview session on Tuesday, May 29 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Walt Mossberg and I could not be more thrilled to announce that Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, will be the opening-night speaker at our 10th D: All Things Digital conference.

It will be Cook’s first appearance at D, as well as his first time being onstage at an event not run by Apple or for investors since he was named CEO last August.

Steve Jobs made a number of appearances at the D conferences, including a notable joint appearance with Bill Gates at D5 in 2007 and his final appearance there at D8 in 2010.

The Flashback malware affecting OS X systems has gained quite a bit of publicity since it was disclosed last week that over 600,000 Macs have been infected by the malware. Flashback began life last year as a trojan and has morphed into a drive-by download taking advantage of a vulnerability in Java that Apple did not patch until last week, despite Oracle having released patches for other systems back in February.

Over the past few days, a few additional tidbits of information on Flashback have surfaced, including the arrival of some new tools to help users manage the threat.

- As noted by Ars Technica, a new Mac app by the name of Flashback Checker has been released to help users determine whether their machines have been infected. Users have been instructed to use Terminal to enter commands searching for files created by the malware upon infection, and Flashback Checker offers a simple packaging of these commands behind a user interface. While the app is incredibly simple and does not offer assistance with removing Flashback if it is found on a given system, it does provide a more familiar interface for those who might be intimidated by delving into Terminal on their own.

flashback checker
- OpenDNS has announced that it has included filtering of Flashback in its services. OpenDNS offers a number of features to improve resolution of domain names, and the new filtering of Flashback helps prevent infection while also preventing already-infected machines from communicating with the command-and-control servers being used to deliver instructions to the infected machines.

- Forbes has an interview with Boris Sharov of Russian security firm Dr. Web, which was first to bring the magnitude of the Flashback threat to light. In the interview, Sharov describes how difficult it was to even track down the proper team at Apple with which to share their data, also noting how uncommunicative Apple has been throughout the process. In fact, the only sign of interest they've seen from Apple is the company's efforts to shut down the "sinkhole" Dr. Web was using to reroute traffic from infected machines to gauge how widespread the infections are.

“They told the registrar this [domain] is involved in a malicious scheme. Which would be true if we weren’t the ones controlling it and not doing any harm to users,” says Sharov. “This seems to mean that Apple is not considering our work as a help. It’s just annoying them.”

Sharov believes that Apple’s attempt to shut down its monitoring server was an honest mistake. But it’s a symptom of the company’s typically tight-lipped attitude. In fact, Sharov says that since Dr. Web first contacted Apple to share its findings about the unprecedented Mac-based botnet, it hasn’t received a response. “We’ve given them all the data we have,” he says. “We’ve heard nothing from them until this.”

Security experts at Kaspersky Lab, which verified Dr. Web's assessment of Flashback's prevalence, indicate that Apple is indeed taking the proper steps to address the threat, including tracking and shutting down the servers being used by the malware. But the company has little experience with threats of this magnitude and is undoubtedly scrambling to keep on top of the situation.

Apple's stock has continued its remarkable run in 2012, moving up another 1% today to briefly hit a market capitalization of $600 billion. The milestone comes just under six weeks after hitting $500 billion, and Apple's stock is now up nearly 60% since the beginning of the year.

aapl 2012 to 600 billion
If some analysts are to be believed, the $600 billion mark is just a brief stop on the company's way to a trillion dollar market capitalization. Analysts are beginning to float that unprecedented number as a target for Apple's stock price over the next year or so.

Apple is now within just a few billion dollars of taking Microsoft's title of most valuable publicly-traded company ever, targeting its rivals' $604 billion market capitalization achieved in December 1999. But adjusting for inflation, Microsoft's market capitalization at that time would correspond to over $800 billion in today's dollars.

iphone passcodeThe Wall Street Journal reports that the four major U.S. wireless carriers have reached an agreement with the Federal Communications Commission to work toward a centralized database to track and disable stolen mobile phones.

The database, which the wireless companies will build and maintain, will be designed to track phones that are reported as lost or stolen and deny them voice and data service. The idea is to reduce crime by making it difficult or impossible to actually use a stolen device, reducing resale value.

Currently, Verizon Communications Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. block phones that are reported stolen from being reactivated. AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA don't. All four have agreed to be part of the new database.

The report cites a study from the New York Police Department showing that electronics are now the most commonly stolen type of property, with mobile phones accounting for over 80% of thefts in that category.

According to the plan, the major carriers will develop individual databases within six months, integrating them over the following 12 months. Smaller carriers will also join the database after that point. The database will also be interoperable with similar efforts in other countries to allow for international tracking of stolen phones, although many countries have yet to develop such databases.

As noted by ifoAppleStore, Apple has typically taken a hands-off approach when it comes to stolen phones, with Genius Bar staff routinely offering free warranty replacements in exchange for stolen phones. Apple's policies reportedly stem from a lack of centralized tracking of stolen devices and a desire to not become involved in potential confrontations over the stolen merchandise, but an official database supported by the carriers could help Apple become more proactive about handling stolen iPhones.

Related Forum: iPhone

armyiphone
This weekend, AT&T began unlocking iPhones for off-contract customers. This allows the iPhone be used with a SIM-card from overseas carriers, or T-Mobile in the U.S. In addition to unlocking phones for off-contract customers, AT&T is also quietly unlocking iPhones for U.S. service members still under contract with the carrier.

Carriers are required by federal law to suspend service without penalty for deployed military personnel upon presentation of their military orders, but AT&T is not required to unlock the phones of deployed service members. Instead, the company is choosing to do that on its own.

AT&T declined to comment, but we have independently confirmed that AT&T is unlocking phones for service members upon request. Deployed soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines should contact AT&T customer service to get more information about having their iPhones unlocked.

Thanks Taylor! (Photo courtesy Otterbox)